A taste of camping

I wanted to do one last race with all of the Ironman training, so I signed up for the Black Diamond half-ironman near Enumclaw. Even though, it’s only about an hours drive from Seattle we decided to camp near the race site, since we haven’t had a chance to camp at all this year. We got to the park early, since we couldn’t make a reservation — this was nice because we got our choice of campsites and picked our favorite one:

The boys as usual didn’t get to help with the setting up of tents or food unpacking and they were unamused:

After setting up camp, I needed to check in for my race and drop off my bike to make life easier tomorrow morning. After all of the pomp and circumstance of Ironman Canada, it was nice to have a small, straightforward registration process. M made a new friend:

We checked out the lake that I’d be swimming in tomorrow:

Dropped off my bike in transition:

And then I took an opportunity to take a racers-eye view of the finishing chute:

Now just imagine it filled with screaming fans and what-not.

The weird thing about camping so close to a town, is that we could go to Safeway and Rite-aid to pick up some stuff before returning to camp. So, after setting up camp we went and ran a bunch of errands. Gotta love getting away from it all! After our errand-running, M made us a kick-ass campfire and we lounged around it for a while. Then we made some yummy packets of fish (T, J & I) and chicken (M) with some corn and veggies. T had made an awesome loaf of fresh bread to complete the meal, so it was a great dinner. Some s’mores for dessert and campfire time and it was perfect. Then it was early to bed for the race tomorrow.

Are you ready for this?

If there’s a question I’ve been asked more than any of the obvious ones (“Are you crazy?” “What’s wrong with you?” and so on… ) it’s “Are you ready?” And it’s a tricky question to answer honestly. I mean, obviously I think I am, otherwise I wouldn’t be here but I don’t really know whether I am or not. Nor will I know until I cross that finish line. The askers of this question are always well-meaning and quite unaware of the conversation they’ve just kick-started in my brain.

Logical part of brain: “You’ve trained hard. You’ve done long races before. You’ll be fine.”
Emotional part of brain: “What if it wasn’t enough? What if it’s just too hard”
and so forth…

This question was much on my mind this morning as I packed all of my many bags and began the logistical preparation for tomorrow’s big event. Ironman is all about bags (well, also lines and $$$, but there are lots of bags!) I started by laying all of my bags out on the bed:

I’d made numerous packing lists, so it was just a matter of making sure everything ended up in the right bag. M & T came in periodically to check on me and take photos:

T was in charge of the bike checkout ticket and found a nice safe place to put it:

The boys took a nap on the couch while we finished packing up:

Finally, it was time to go drop off all of my bags and bike at the transition area. (Gulp.) Here I am, bags in hand – as ready as I’ll ever be:

T put my bike sticker on:

And we were off! Only athletes were allowed into the transition area, so I had to leave my support team behind while a volunteer hurried up to grab my bags:

She was very nice, and walked me to my spot on the bike rack and then showed me where to put each of my transition bags. I thanked her for her help and took a few moments to take some pictures around the transition area. In this sea of bags, how will I ever find mine?

Oh wait, here it is:

Here’s my bike row:

And here’s my bike on the rack, waiting patiently for it’s big day:

Swim buoys – next time I see them, they’ll be in the lake and I’ll be swimming by them.

All of the Swim to Bike bags:

I also wandered into the change tent. Last year, I was a volunteer here and this year I’ll get to see this through the eyes of a participant. Since I wouldn’t have a chance to take a picture tomorrow, I decided to snap a shot now:

As I was heading out, I ran into Erin so I walked with her as she dropped her stuff off and we took a few more photos:

Finally, we were all checked in and we could return to our peeps behind the fences. We ran into our volunteer captain from last year, which was great. M snapped this awesome shot of us leaving, we look so hardcore!

After all that, we had a few last minute supplies to pick up. First, we’d been told we had to try some Timbits, so we stopped at Tim Hortons. So, Tasha – this is for you:

Pretty tasty, I must say! Then we hit Walmart to grab some sign-making supplies and a few other things. T found this giant container of Epsom Salts for my post-race bath. I was pretty psyched:

After that it was time to head home and rest as best we could for the big day ahead. Erin & I chilled on the couch while J & M did battle with the evil kitchen to prepare our pre-race meal. M snapped this great picture that really nails the anxiety levels:

Dinner was awesome – J & M really outdid themselves with some delicious chicken, sweet potatoes and green beans. (YUM!) Soon it was time to go to bed, even though I was reasonably sure I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. After I went to “sleep” the preparations began for the next day. They wouldn’t let me in to see, but I could hear lots of giggling, which is never a good sign (get it?)

Tomorrow is the moment of truth. We’ll see if I’m ready…

Fore, eh?

After dinner, we thought it would be fun to go play some miniature golf in town. Here’s M, waiting patiently for us to get in the car:

The family fun center had a nautical theme:

Despite some crazy woman who had about 14 kids with her, who was extremely (and confusingly) rude and tried to cut in front of us on the course, we had a great time. M took some photos of all of the exciting putt-putt action. Here’s yours truly hydrating and sizing up the course:

Gotta love the footwear, right? And here’s me doing some iron-golfing:

da boyz:

And here’s the bad-ass golfing crew:

It was a nice diversion amongst all of the race day preparations. Many thanks to T & M for suggesting it.

Testing the waters

We got up early to hit the lake for a swim. All in all there were four of us – myself, Erin:

T & M:

There were tons of folks out swimming and with good reason, the lake was awesome.

The lake is crazy shallow for a long ways out – basically up until the buoy line in this picture:

That made it really nice for M & T, since you could basically stop and stand up whenever you got tired/freaked out. The water was also clear and not too cold. We swam for about half an hour and then changed out of our swim stuff. I snapped this cute pic of M:

and she countered with this cute one of Erin & I:

She made a joke that we looked like we were about to make out, which sparked the interest of the two male triathletes sitting on a bench next to us and prompted this silly shot:

We walked over to the expo to see if we could score some free Crocs and on the way I snapped this shot of a local landmark, a.k.a. the Peach:

The line for Crocs was way too long:

So we wandered around the much-less crowded expo, where I captured some of the more amusing folks we came across. Fancy tri bike, check. Plastic pirate sword, check:

And my favorite shot of the day, the king of the preening, self-important jerkwads that make me sad to share a sport:

Dude, seriously. Even in a sport where people walk around in compression socks, you look ridiculous. We headed back to the house for some breakfast. On the menu were T’s awesome blueberry pancakes and some bacon (no, not Canadian bacon… or is it?)

We’d been making jokes that the kitchen was evil – the oven would alternately burn or undercook things. Utensils would try to cut you and the griddle was no exception – part of it was too hot and part not hot enough. But we managed to get a decent breakfast out of it anyway.

After breakfast, we headed out for a short bike ride. In homage to our friend at the expo, we snapped this group portrait:

And then this one:

We rode part of the run course, which runs along Lake Skaha, the big lake on the other side of Penticton from the one we’ll be swimming in on Sunday. As we headed out, I felt awesome – super strong and fast. At first, I thought it was the effects of the taper but then I realized it was the huge tailwind that was pushing us along. We decided to turn around a bit early, knowing that we’d have to ride back into a headwind. It wasn’t fun, but we made it back home safe and sound.

We lounged around the house for a while, took naps and rested. Later in the afternoon, T, David and I drove the bike course. It was really helpful to see the hills in person and get a sense for how to pace myself. The climbs looked manageable and it’s a beautiful course. I was actually excited to get to ride it.

It begins!

Today was the first day of registration and even though I knew it was stupid to go early on the first day, I just couldn’t help myself. We headed down to the expo and were greeted by the site of this ginourmous line:

Yes, it’s the registration line. We decided to be in denial for a little while and see if it got shorter while we wandered around the expo. It was pretty good, lots of fancy tri-toys. We wandered into the branded merchandise tent to see all of the crazy crap you can buy with the Ironman logo on it. (It’s quite mind-boggling!) I did get to try on a fancy aero-helmet:

I think it really suits me, don’t you? Erin was still in line waiting to buy some stuff, so we decided to join the crazy registration line and get it over with. M, T & J were nice enough to hold a place in line for me, while I wandered over to the Gatorade tent to harass one of my tri friends D. She was joined by some other folks from my triathlon forum, so I got to meet them in person, which was cool.

After way too long in line, we made it into the tent. T went to stand in line in the merchandise tent for me, while M came along with me in her official capacity as my personal photographer. She documented the whole registration process, including me waiting for them to find my packet:

Me signing my life away:

Erin and I getting weighed in:

And my favorite volunteer of the day, Mabel-who was awesome:

Finally, the registration process was complete:

I hustled over to buy my race reward (IM Canada bike jersey) before the selection got too picked over (on Erin’s suggestion.) T was about 6 people away from the front of the line, so the timing worked out great. Finally, it was time to bid farewell to the Ironman craziness and head back to the house for some relaxing and an easy run in the neighborhood.

I had one last bit of bike upkeep I wanted to do, change out the bar tape on my aerobars. T was nice enough to help me out:

It came out looking very snazzy:

After a nice easy 30 minute run/shower/change, we headed into town to meet up with some more tri-peeps at a pretty little Greek place named Theos:

I had only met one of the folks we dined with before, but it was a great group of people and we had a wonderful time. The restaurant was more crowded than usual, so I’m guessing their service was a bit out of sorts (at least that’s what I’m choosing to believe) but with the exception of some overdone chicken, the food was good and the company was fabulous. I had a great time and it was a wonderful way to close out our first day in town.

The Canadian adventure begins…

Today marks the start of the Ironman Canada experience. T & I caravaned up with M & J, starting the trip off with breakfast at Besalu. Then it was off to Penticton, via the northeast corner of Washington. The scenery was gorgeous, we had new car CD’s to listen to and of course we were on vacation. T & I haven’t had a shared day off in weeks, so it was nice to look forward to having numerous days to spend together, even if they are going to be mostly spent doing race preparations and tapering.

M took some great shots of the trip:

The only part of our drive that was note-worthy was our brief detainment at the Canadian border. Apparently, our general unsavoryness is not just apparent to friends and family but also the Canadian border patrol. It turned out to be no big deal, they took our passports, did a brief background check and we were on our way.

Then we finished our drive into Penticton, settled into the rental house that we were sharing with Erin and David. The house looks like it’s going to work out great and the owners are quite nice. We had an awesome dinner: grilled flank steak, roasted potatoes with blue cheese and salad. (thanks for cooking Erin!) Afterwards, we went to the local ice cream joint – Tickleberries for some ridiculously huge kid’s sized ice cream cones. (I am really going to miss Ironman training for the ability to eat pretty much anything I want.) All in all, a very good start to the weekend!

Centralia

Today, I had to meet up with Susan to transfer the dogs that she’s so kindly agreed to watch. For those of you who’ve made the drive from Seattle to Portland or vice-versa, you know Centralia as that cluster of Factory Outlet stores and fast food restaurants roughly halfway between the two cities. I looked up a McMenamins pub in town for our meet-up so we didn’t have to eat at McDonalds. The pub turned out to be in the Old Town section of Centralia, which is really cool:

It was nice see Susan and Rudy and we had a lovely lunch next to a very busy set of train tracks. (Note to self, never stay in Old Town Centralia.) When it came time for the handoff, the dogs were so excited to see Susan they didn’t even notice I was leaving. Which is nice, if not a little bit insulting.

All roads lead to Conoco

Sunday morning started early, but fortunately there was coffee to ease the blow. We were on the road by 7am, which is significantly earlier than I’m able to drag my sorry butt out the door on my own. M was riding with us for the first section and got her first lesson in drafting from Erin. She adapted to it quickly and is definitely a fan. The first part of the ride was on lovely asphalt and just zoomed by. We pulled over for M to turn around, which gave me a chance to snap a few pictures. For you California readers, doesn’t Prosser look like the central valley area?

The highlight of the stop was M asking about rattlesnakes, being assured by Erin & I that there weren’t any and then almost peeing on a dead one. Good times. She was nice enough to snap a shot of Erin & me with my camera before she took off though, because she’s cool like that.

After bidding farewell to M, we continued on our way and made our first stop at a Conoco gas station for water and potty breaks. There were tons of cyclists, so clearly it’s a popular stopping place. Then it was time for some climbing. Erin had planned out a good IM Canada prep ride that had a 6 mile climb, a big loop of rollers and then a second time up the 6 mile climb then another 20-30 miles and then home. The climb itself was fine – good shoulder, decent pavement and not a lot of traffic.

(photo by M)

There was only one thing that made it hard, a crazy headwind that at times felt like an invisible person was pushing against my bike. But I just put my head down and pedalled away.

(photo by M)

After climbing that big hill, we got to turn around and fly back down it which was awesome! You never appreciate how big a hill you just climbed as much as when you get to go back down. It was crazy. We did another big loop, stopping at a different Conoco where I got a Coke and some Nutter Butters (mmmm!) Then more riding and a second stop at the same Conoco that we’d stopped at initially. We called M to schedule some water delivery up on the ridge that would follow the second climb.

The second time seemed easier than the first, headwind-wise, probably because I was remembering it being impossibly awful. After the second climb we headed out into the wheat fields on top of a windy ridge. They’d harvested recently, so the fields looked like this:

It was gusty and the road was chipseal, but otherwise the riding was fine. Eventually, M arrived with water and my second bottle of Infinit chilling in a cooler. She was our hero, because it was definitely hot out there.

We suggested that she ride down the hill we’d climbed, so she’d properly appreciate our achievement. We hit the road again and after a while I saw M up ahead. She’d stopped to take a few pictures of us riding in the pretty scenery. Here’s Erin:

And here’s me:

The last section of the ride was along a busy highway which, with the gusts of winds and trucks going by, was not my favorite thing. Right before we had another big downhill section there was an overlook where we could stop and see all of Prosser below.

Not having M to take a picture of us, we tried the DIY method. (M definitely has job security, because I suck at this… )

Then it was down the hill and home in a flash. The descent was fun, except for a gusty section that was a little scary. Before we knew it, we were back in Erin’s neighborhood with approximately 85 miles completed (my bike computer is not accurate, hence the approximately.) It was sooooo nice to have a riding companion for such a long ride, not to mention such a nice area to ride in. I’m very grateful to Erin for being such a fabulous hostess on all counts.

Girls day out, Prosser style

The next morning I awoke to the sound of birds. After a delicious breakfast, we headed out for a short ride with Erin as tour guide:

That’s her house in the background, isn’t it adorable? We did a very enjoyable 90 minute ride that went by quickly and felt great. Erin’s cat Bandit was chilling in his kitty house when we got back so I snapped a few pics:

Isn’t he sweet? Her other cat Cheddar was busy hunting in the garden, so I didn’t get his picture but trust me, he’s a sweetie too. I went for a short run, while M went for a short swim at the outdoor public pool that was two blocks away. Erin was nice enough to home and make lunch (such a good hostess!) which we devoured when we got back. After some quick showers, it was time for a little wine tasting.

Prosser is a big agricultural area, with a ton of wineries. We hit Mercer first, which had a pretty swanky tasting room. Erin has done some volunteering for the local wineries, so she knows a lot of the folks and has the inside scoop on the Prosser wine scene. Mercer sometimes does tours of their processing plant, but alas not today. They did let us go into the barrel room, which was pretty freakin’ cool (both literally and figuratively)

Outside the parking area, they had these cool wooden crates stacked up. In this photo, you can also admire Erin’s fantastic parking job. (And this was BEFORE the wine tasting!)

Next stop was the winery where Erin used to volunteer. (I can’t remember the name) The highlight of this visit was the door to the club room, which was a sliding bookshelf, a la Scooby Doo. Super cool:

Our third and final stop was this really cute little winery called Chinook. Their tasting room was in a converted house where we were greeted by a very sweet golden retriever. Here he is, hard at work:

Despite some seriously ugly labels, the wine was very, very good. The folks running the tasting room were very nice and it was fun to chat with them. After dropping our wine off at Erin’s house, we hit the road to Kennewick for pedicures and the 40th birthday celebration of one of Erin’s friends, which was really fun. It’s always interesting to hang out with people who have known each other for a really long time. Especially if there are embarrassing high school photos involved. (Vive la big hair!) Sadly, we had to leave the party early as we had an early morning ride time so we had to be the lame people going to be at 9:30 on a Saturday night. Such is the life of the triathlete in training…

It’s Friday, I’m in Kent

A few weeks ago, I’d signed up to do a 2.4 mile swim race in “beautiful” Kent, WA. Why would I do such a thing, you may (rightfully) ask. Well, I wanted to do at least one confirmed open water swim of the distance that I’ll have to race come Ironman day and I always get confused with the suburbs east of Seattle and thought Kent was much closer than it was. The race was at 6:15 in the evening, which ordinarily would be fine, except for the fact that it was on the Friday evening of a weekend I’d planned to spend in Prosser with my friend Erin. D’oh! Luckily, my friend M was up for an adventure and decided to come with me, so I had good company on this crazy adventure.

M picked me up from work and we headed directly to Kent. We left ourselves plenty of time in case of traffic, so of course we were crazy early. This left us plenty of time to check in, wander around, etc. We watched them set up the buoys of the course and yet again I marvelled at how far a 1.2 mile course looks (I would have to do two loops for my race.) Before I knew it, it was time to suit up and get in the water. M was kind enough to take pictures, so here’s the start:

And we’re off:

I started toward the back, as I’d never swum a race of this distance before and wanted to take the first loop nice and easy. I took it probably a little too easy, but made it around the first lap in reasonably good shape. For the first time, I think ever, I stayed right on the buoy line and didn’t swim a lot of extra distance going wide around the buoys. Here’s the pack starting their second lap, or the 1.2 mile race starting, I’m not sure. But the picture is pretty, so it’s here:

And as always with a multi-loop course, I was not excited to start the second loop. It was nice knowing where to site and where I could just put my head down and swim. This is probably me starting my second lap:

It was pretty spread out at the back of the pack, but I still managed to keep ahead of a few people and pass a few others. I didn’t set my stopwatch, but I believe that I probably swam the second lap faster than the first. I managed to do the whole thing in 1:35:30, about five minutes slower than I was hoping for. Given that I’ve never swum this distance, I was pretty happy with that time.

Afterward, M regaled me with some of the craziness that had been going on while I’d been swimming. She’d apparently been told by one of the race volunteers that her cheering was “confusing the swimmers” and they were swimming toward the sound of her voice. (WTF?) She also had some funny stories from the people sitting next to her and I really appreciated that she was willing to freeze her butt off to watch me swim for an hour and a half. As we were getting ready to leave the park, we saw the most ghetto-tastic ice cream man of all time. M was too embarrassed to photograph him with her big camera, so I snapped this stealth shot:

Yeah, that’s a Sikh guy driving a mini-van with stickers on it. It was pretty hilarious and for a minute I felt like I was back on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. (Except that the guy driving would have probably been Dominican or Hassidic instead of Sikh.) After all of that, it was time to hit the road for a three-hour drive to Prosser. We grabbed some coffee at Starbucks, a little fast food drive thru action and then hit the road.

Erin was nice enough to stay awake to greet us, even though it was midnight when we finally got there. We got to see her cute house and meet her two awesome kittycats. We talked a little about our plans for the weekend, then it was time for bed.